


Aftermath

by Slapstix66



Series: Graffitipunk [7]
Category: Callisto 6 (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Future Fic, Takes Place Post 312, Written Post 311
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 04:30:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20558267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slapstix66/pseuds/Slapstix66
Summary: The story doesn't end just because the heroes win.It's hard to prepare for your future when you don't know if you'll have one. And when you're suddenly faced with it it can be absolutely terrifying. Even if you do have your friends by your side.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> I finished something! Finally! Hope you enjoy the first in what will hopefully be a short series about the repercussions the team will face after defeating Voon'kos. Each chapter will have a bit of a theme in the aftermath, this first one being the first month or so and just trying to figure out what exactly "normal" means again.

Cass wasn’t entirely sure what to do after defeating Voon'kos. If she was being totally honest with herself, she’d stopped letting herself try to think about the future shortly after getting her powers. Everything felt like it had spiraled out of control and she’d very quickly learned to simply roll with it.

No one was talking about the future anyways. It’d only been two days and those two days had been spent resting. 

Cass hadn’t moved from her spot next to Luma that entire time. Actually, Cass had rather enjoyed the 40+ hours of (mostly) uninterrupted cuddles while their bodies tried to recover from the strain of the battle. It was slow going. But she could feel the strength returning to her battered and beaten body.

She could tell Luma was feeling stronger too. If Cass had been feeling weak post-fight it was nothing compared to the rest of the team. She’d barely managed to help Sal and Dr. Patel move the five remaining members of the team to their beds before collapsing herself. 

Luma curled in a little closer to her. She was wearing her glasses and Cass was fairly certain she was reading. She didn’t know exactly what she was reading but she figured it was funny. Luma would chuckle every once and a while before clutching her healing ribs and forcing herself to settle back down. 

Voon'kos had unfortunately left his mark on the team. The injuries they’d all sustained during that fight seemed unaffected by the Callisto 6 energy and it’s supernatural healing abilities and was healing at a normal rate, much to Cass’s annoyance. Luma’s ribs were probably going to need several more weeks to finish mending. Cass was too scared to ask how long it would take for her shattered ankle and sprained wrist to finally heal up. Lacy wasn’t in much of a state to answer her regardless. Dr. Patel had them in a medically induced coma.

Cass reached up with her good hand and gently ran her fingers through Luma’s hair. She tried to ignore how shaky she was. She didn’t like feeling so weak. Especially with the rest of the team as vulnerable as they were while they were recovering. 

Luma leaned into the touch but didn’t say anything. They’d been in silence for several hours already, just soaking up each others company. Cass was surprised how easy it was for her, which was either a testament to how calming she found Luma or to the levels of exhaustion she’d been experiencing. 

Probably a bit of both.

Luma leaned into her, eyes still pacing back and forth against an invisible page. Cass smiled. It was nice, feeling so calm. Not needing to worry about the world ending and just getting to…  _ be _ .

It suddenly occurred to her that she and Luma had never experienced this before while dating. They’d always been trying to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Cass couldn’t wait for her body to stop fighting her. There were so many things she wanted to do with her newfound freedom.

Mostly she wanted to take her girlfriend out on a date that  _ she’d  _ planned.

They hadn’t had time yet, but she’d been wanting to take her to a magball game or something like that. Oya had suggested Luma might enjoy a night out tagging. Cass was inclined to agree, but part of her really wanted to do something…  _ normal  _ for a change. 

Was dinner and a movie to cliche? There was a new heist movie that’d just been released and Cass really wanted to see it. 

It suddenly occurred to her that someone might make a movie about them in the future and she got distracted trying to figure out who’d play her. Probably Nina Valleran if she was being honest. It was a casting choice she could approve of anyway. 

She felt Luma stir next to her, a soft hiss escaping her as she twisted her ribs the wrong way. Glancing down she found Luma looking up at her, no longer distracted reading. Cass felt a warm sensation in her chest she still hadn’t figured out how to name but it was very distinctly her Luma emotion. Cass smiled back down at her and realized that she’d been playing with her hair while lost in thought. 

“Hey.” Luma leaned up slightly and kissed the underside of her jaw. “How’re you feeling? Is your ankle still bugging you?” Cass shook her head.

“Naw, whatever Moonlight did definitely helped with the pain. Maybe she could do something to help you with your ribs.” Cass traced her fingers down Luma’s spine and she felt her shiver.

“That’d be nice. No one told me bruised ribs were going to hurt so much.” Luma squeezed in closer, burying her face into Cass’s neck with a soft grunt. “Just breathing hurts.” 

Cass sent Moonlight a quick message asking for some assistance. She returned to carefully combing her fingers through Luma’s hair. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was that soft before Luma got her powers. She figured it was. 

“I know, babe. Banged up ribs are the worst. There was this one time…” Cass started telling Luma about one of the many fights she got into as a kid and how she’d broken a rib and it’d hurt for months afterward. Moonlight showed up halfway through the story and after a quick explanation, she helped relieve some of the pain Luma was feeling. Cass had to start the story over for her and Moonlight was smiling and shaking her head as she worked. She seemed amused by teenaged Cass’s shenanigans. Luma was trying not to laugh as Moonlight was working but it was clearly very hard. 

“That feels a lot better, thanks.” Luma smiled up as Moonlight as she finished, only a minute or two after Cass had. 

_ You’re welcome. _ The digital readout translated her signs.  _ Sal’s making dinner. Be ready soon.  _

Luma yawned her thanks but was already starting to drift off. The exhaustion finally setting in without her body distracting her with pain. 

“I’ll wake her up when it’s ready,” Cass promised.

Moonlight simply smiled and left the room.

Cass knew it was an empty promise as she too drifted off. Taking a nap while cuddling with Luma sounded way too good to pass up on. 

It was the first time the team had left Blue Dolphin since the fight with Voon'kos a week ago. Everyone wanted to go visit their families and if the messages from Luma’s mom were any indication they wanted to see them as well. 

Cass had been surprised when Luma’s mom had messaged her in addition to Luma and Lacy. She didn’t even know that Luma’s mom had her number but the message was very clear, Mrs. Orsini expected to see  _ both  _ of them as soon as possible. Cass wasn’t really sure what to expect, she knew that their fight had been broadcast all over the city thanks to Sophia. She’d watched it many times over the last seven days and it was terrifying. Part of her was certain Luma’s mom was going to be mad at her for not protecting Luma better. It didn’t help that she was still beating herself up for not getting there fast enough when Voon'kos had slammed her into the wall in the underground facility. If they hadn’t defeated him shortly after that… Cass didn’t really want to think about it.

It was slightly awkward trying to adjust to the crutches. Lacy had insisted that she’d need them and after having her leg buckle beneath her the first time she tried walking on it she was inclined to agree with them. She still didn’t like it. Mostly because she kept on overestimating how much pressure to put on them and breaking them in half. Lacy had ended up customizing her a pair so that wouldn’t happen. 

The three of them portaled onto the docks of Raft City, a short distance away from where Lacy and Luma had grown up. Lacy had already sent Oya, Hopps, and Anton to their prospective homes. A bead of sweat rolled down their face. They’d only been out of bed for a couple of days and it was clear that the strain of making that many jumps was wearing on their body. Luma squeezed Cass’s hand quickly before letting go so she could move. Cass wished she could hold her hand the whole way there.

“So… we ready for this?” 

“Nope.” 

“Not at all.” 

Cass and Lacy responded at the same time. Cass caught a flash of a smile cross Luma’s face before it morphed back to worry. Cass wasn’t sure if that was reassuring or not.

“Come on.” 

People were still cleaning up the mess caused by their fight out on the street. Though that wasn’t entirely fair. The earthquake and resulting tsunami that Voon'kos’s death had caused hadn’t been their faults. It was just hard not to think like that when facing the carnage in the streets.

Whispers followed them and at one point an entire ship full of construction workers stopped working to applaud them. Cass wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She’d never wanted to be a hero. Never wanted to be famous. It’s hard to lie low when you’ve very publicly helped save the world.

She thought briefly about the future. Wondered if she could get used to this. Wondered if it was ever going to be possible to have a normal life. She glanced at Luma, who was halfheartedly waving at the people on the boat. She wondered if they could have a life together without their past coming to crush them. She sure hoped so.

Luma’s family’s boat was a little banged up. The hull had caved in slightly from repeatedly hitting against the dock and the door was awkwardly jammed into its place, not quite fitting the way it was supposed to. Luma walked up to the door and waited for Lacy to make it to their boat before knocking. Cass hovered next to her. Literally.

The door flung open and before Cass had the chance to react her girlfriend was enveloped by her mother. Cass wasn’t sure how to articulate it but the air around them felt different. Luma’s mother wasn’t saying anything in the realm of chastisement and was simply asking over and over again if she was alright. 

Cass wasn’t sure what she was expecting when Luma’s mom noticed her but she was completely caught off guard by the tears and worried look. 

Luma’s mom grabbed her and wrapped her arms around her the same way she had Luma. It was strange for Cass but in a good way. She’d experienced a rather limited amount of motherly affection growing up so while the feeling was nice, it was alien. She pulled away and started fussing with Cass’s hair, trying and failing to fix the unruly mess. Luma watched them with a look on her face Cass couldn’t quite place. But it was happy.

“You’re both so thin. Are they not feeding you at your secret base? Come in, both of you, I’ll make you some food.” She helped them both into the boat, the entryway a bit precarious as it hadn’t been fixed yet. She plopped Cass down on the couch and Luma sat next to her. “Your father and the twins went into the city to get supplies to fix the ship. They won’t be back for several hours, everyone’s needing supplies to rebuild so the stores are overrun.”

Cass felt a sudden burst of helplessness. She wanted to be out helping the city rebuild like her family had done after C-Day. Instead, she’d been forced to spend a week hiding under the ocean trying to recover enough energy to simply move. Luma reached out and took her hand. It took Cass a moment to realize she’d probably been broadcasting her emotions a little louder than she’d intended. It was a problem they hadn’t really figured out how to address yet, their connection getting stronger after Voon’kos’s defeat. She very gently squeezed Luma’s hand.

“I’ve got some stew on the stove for dinner but it’s not going to be ready for several hours. We’ve got some leftover crab cakes from last night I could heat up for you.” She was giving Cass this worried look like she knew Cass was putting on a brave face because she wanted to impress her. “I’ve got some decent prescription painkillers in the first aid kit. They’re leftover from when Luca broke his arm last year.” 

“That would actually be really nice. We ran out of pain meds really fast down there and Lacy wasn’t really in any condition for driving.” Cass curled up into the arm of the couch and waited for Luma to make herself comfortable against her side. Luma’s mom gave them a small, almost sad smile. 

“I’ll go grab everything while you two get comfortable. But then I want to know what happened. I’ve seen the news but… it’s different hearing it from you.”

Luma nodded like she’d been expecting this and her mother got up and headed back towards the kitchen area. Cass leaned her forehead against Luma’s shoulder.

“On the bright side, there wasn’t any yelling?” Cass whispered.

“Yeah, I think having a week to process probably helped a bit,” Luma responded. “It’s kinda weird not having her yelling. It makes me nervous.”

Cass wanted to say everything about Luma’s mom made her nervous. Instead, she simply ran her fingers through Luma’s hair. She was slightly jealous. It didn’t seem to matter what was going on around them, Luma’s hair always stayed perfect. Perks of being a shapeshifter she supposed. 

“Think we’ll be staying for dinner?” 

“I hope so. Unless there’s a really, really big emergency we’ll be staying. We aren’t exactly ready to get back to saving people.” Luma nodded to her leg. “Besides, we deserve a break.” 

Cass nodded. She pulled Luma closer and curled up around her as best she could considering the circumstances. 

Normally the thought of cuddling with Luma while her mom was around would have been completely mortifying. She couldn’t bring herself to care anymore though. There was something about facing down the monstrosity that was Voon'kos’s true form that made little things like that feel petty. Who cares if your girlfriend’s mom sees you being affectionate when there are cosmic horrors that want to destroy the world.

There  _ were  _ cosmic horrors that wanted to destroy the world, Cass reminded herself. She’d probably get back to being nervous around Luma’s parents at some point. She was just too exhausted to think that far ahead. 

Luma’s mom returned with a couple glasses of juice and a half-full bottle of pills. Cass downed double the recommended dose and the entire glass of juice in one gulp. Luma’s mom was still giving her a worried look, though Cass realized it was directed as both of them now.

“The food’ll be read in about twenty minutes. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what happened?” 

And they did. She’d interrupt them briefly every once and a while to ask for clarification on something but was otherwise silent and listening attentively as they explained what exactly Voon'kos was. What they had been. It was nice to unload and just tell someone about what they’d experienced. A voice that sounded a lot like Anton’s told her they probably needed therapy. The voice was probably right. 

They had to pause halfway through for Luma’s mom to get the food and the progression of the story slowed as the two of them tried to talk around eating. It had been a while since they’d been able to have a good home-cooked meal. Probably right before they headed down to face Voon’kos. Dr. Patel wasn’t really much of a cook.

Luma’s mom sighed, clearly a little overwhelmed by the flood of information after they finished. 

“So… does that mean you’ll be able to stay tonight?” It took Cass a moment to realize she was talking to both of them and not just her daughter. 

“Yeah. Yeah, we can.”

Cass knew they weren’t staying with the Orsini’s on a permanent basis. Even now they were going back and forth between there and Blue Dolphin. But for what it was worth it was nice to have a mailing address. 

She wasn’t really sure what to do with herself anymore. No bad guy was needing to be defeated and Luma and Oya’s business plans went completely over her head. Well, the details of them did anyway. They were definitely planning on opening a cafe in Raft City, though the minute they started talking about investors they lost her. 

Still, it was a good distraction for the two of them (and occasionally Lacy when they weren’t working in their shop) and she knew at the very least it was helping Luma with the nightmares to have something not Callisto 6 focused to work on during the day.

Cass wished she had something like that. Stopping the occasional mugging was nice but it wasn’t exactly unrelated to their powers. When she’d told Mr. Orsini he’d gotten a familiar, scheming look on his face, just like Luma did.

“Well,” he’d told her. “I’ve got a fishing boat and could always use someone really strong to help me out.” 

It was a terrifying thought, working for her girlfriend’s father. But it turned out to be exactly what she’s needed. It took her a few trips to really start getting used to the ocean but once she did she found she thrived on the sea. Hauling fishing nets and loading cargo containers was as easy as it was relaxing. Plus her being able to lift the containers and just fly them onto the ship or the dock was apparently super useful. Mr. Orsini had mentioned something about saving a lot of money but she hadn’t really followed that part. She was just happy everyone thought she was being useful. 

Luma had been happy to hear she’d started working with her dad.

“I know you’ve been feeling a little… cooped up lately. It’ll be good for you. Nothing like spending the day on the ocean. Plus, dinner.” Luma held up the fish she was preparing. 

The best part of it all was the fact she had a steady source of income that wasn’t part of KP’s “thanks for saving the world” fund. Not that she hated knowing she was sitting on a couple of million in case of an emergency. It was just nice to be earning  _ her own  _ money. Though as Luma pointed out, they had technically earned KP’s money. Saving the world takes a lot of effort. It’s the only reason Cass had been willing to accept it in the first place. 

The first thing Cass bought herself with her first paycheck was a new jacket. It was similar to her old one, but it fit better and was black with a white, floofy collar. Luma told her it looked good. 

“Now, it’s time for me to plan our date.”

Turned out dating as a famous superhero is  _ really hard _ . 

Every time they tried to just go out and spend some time together with just the two of them they were suddenly surrounded by adoring fans who absolutely needed to have their autographs. 

Also, Cass apparently had a citywide fan club who absolutely hated Luma for “stealing their girl.” Cass wasn’t sure if she was mortified, terrified, or amused. 

She wasn’t sure if she should break it to them that they wouldn’t have stood a chance even if Luma wasn’t in the picture or if it’d just make matters worse. At least Luma thought it was funny.

“Oh, I’ve definitely infiltrated some of their meetings before. They’re harmless. Plus the look on your face whenever they show up is hilarious.” Cass was glad Luma found her embarrassment amusing. 

Cass was just glad she already had someone to date. She didn’t envy Lacy, who was having trouble figuring out how to deal with their… numerous suitors. Cass wanted to help them but she honestly didn’t know if it was Slap or Oya that they were actually crushing on and Luma refused to tell her. And she didn’t really want to try to broach the subject again with Lacy. They’d gone completely nonverbal the last time she’d asked and spent several seconds perfecting miming a fish before they simply rolled away from her without a word. 

Yeah… that whole situation was on the back burner. For now.

First Cass needed to figure out her own love life. Which started with taking her girlfriend out on a completely uninterrupted date… which was starting to look completely impossible. She was probably going to need some help.

“Oya, help!” Cass crashed into Oya’s room at Blue Dolphin and just barely managed to catch her best friend as she fell off the bed, startled by Cass’s sudden appearance and the decimation of her door. “Fuck, sorry.”

“It’s okay… I can fix it…” Oya waved her hand and the door, which had flown off due to the power of Cass’s attempt at knocking, flew back into place and fixed itself. Cass set Oya on her feet and helped steady her, trying to ignore her own reddening face. “So, help?” 

“Help? Right! Help.” Cass scratched at the back of her neck. “So… you know how I’ve been trying to take Luma out on a date for the last month and we keep getting mobbed by fans and the press?” Oya nodded. “Well… how do I make that not happen?” 

Oya sat down on the edge of her bed and patted the spot next to her. A grin spread across her face as the shock wore off. “Okay, girl, date planning time. Sit down, this’ll take a moment.”

Cass was never much of an artist.

Thankfully she did make a decent lookout while the real artist did her work. 

They were both decked out in all black and had simple black face masks on. Cass was carrying a large bag full of spray paint and stencils over one shoulder and a smaller bag full of food of the other.

It definitely wasn’t the most traditional date she’d ever gone on but it was the most interesting. She’d certainly never been chased by the cops while on a date before. It was exhilarating in a fun, not deadly way. Though her crutches, which it looked like they were probably going to be a permanent fixture in her life, made for an interesting addition to her running attempts. 

Besides, she rarely saw Luma looking so free and excited. 

The plan was to mark the four corners of Los Angeles before sunrise while not flying. It wasn’t meant to be easy but it was the middle of winter so they had some extra time. Besides, adrenaline plus Luma was a great motivator. Also cops. 

They’d just finished the final piece in the middle of Raft City. Well, Luma finished it. It was a smaller but more detailed piece of a cartoon fist breaking through the wall. Cass loved it. 

They’d snuck back to Luma’s room, which was rather easy, and were sprawled out on the bed eating what was left of their snacks. Luma’s hair was sprawled out across her pillow like a white and pink halo and her face was red from exertion. Cass had never thought she’d looked more beautiful… and that was saying something. 

Luma pulled the straw from her juice box out of her mouth and grinned up at her. “What’re you looking at?” 

“You.” Cass shrugged, a small smirk on her face. “Not much else worth looking at in here.” 

Luma smiled up at her, a warm look on her face as she reached up and gently cupped her cheek. “When did you get so charming?” 

“I was in bed for a week, I read a book.” Cass shrugged, feeling herself blushing slightly. 

“What exactly were you reading?” Luma laughed and there was a twinkle in her eye that made Cass both nervous and excited.

“Uh… so you know that movie  _ Love & Treachery _ ? It came out early last year.” 

“Yes?”

“Uh… it was the book the movie was based on.” Cass broke eye contact with Luma as her girlfriend started grinning mischievously. 

“Wasn’t it about a couple of super spies who fell in love while they were trying to kill each other and instead killed their handlers and ran away to live on an island together?” Cass could hear the laughter in Luma’s voice. If she was in any less of an embarrassing situation she’s have thought it was cute. 

“Yep, it was that one… it was actually really good…” Cass glanced down at Luma and found her still grinning up at her. 

“So… does that mean you want to run away to an island together and hide away from our past?” There was a heavy teasing note to her voice and Cass had to resist the urge to roll onto the floor and hide.

“I mean… we’re technically on an island? Sort of?” Cass looked out the window at the city-lit ocean. “We’re surrounded by water at the very least?” 

There was a beat as the laugh lines on Luma’s face softened. She nodded. “Yeah, I guess we are.” The mischievous look returned. “Well then. Whatever could we do if we had an island all to ourselves.”

Cass smirked. The answer to that one was obvious.

She simply leaned down and kissed Luma in response, comfortable with the fact Luma understood and was fine with her less verbal replies. 

This had been a future worth fighting for. 

And damn she was glad they did. 

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter should be focused on recovery, specifically getting into the details of Cass's disability I was hinting at throughout this part.


End file.
